A little salt and lime...

Salt- it's so freaking hot here in mid coastal FL that I almost literally melted onto the seat of my truck today even with great working a/c. The heat makes me grumpy, I'll never get used to it down here. It's only seven hours to PC but what a difference. Now, for a few weeks or even a month or two, there is some equality in the heat, but down here it's like a waffle maker. SALT!

Lime- soothing. My husband buzzed away at some homemade carpentry (a play table for our kids and a work table for our garage) and I watered our plants like a trooper. I soothed myself on a mommy break at the beach yesterday sitting in the Gulf of Mexico among the Memorial Day yahoos and had a very nice time. In the end, I wanted to be back with my husband and sons, to enjoy the last day together of our 6 day stay-cay at home. Only a week left until my son is out of school for the summer, so I got out the craft boxes for the kids, my old piano books for keyboard singalongs, and am trying to be mentally prepared for a summer. Lime- green, cooling, used in my homemade quacamole and squeezed onto fish, pastas, and rice dinners. Lime- my favorite color.

Hope you guys had an outstanding weekend and week. I am about to embark on a trip of writing...for my sons. I am quitting Facebook for the summer in a few days,and am pulling the mental reigns in so that I can concentrate on writing...my first love. I am still volunteering for the Literacy Council local and hope to do more volunteering this summer and fall for any other United Way organizations. I used to help with their marketing department in Okaloosa County and got bitten by the bug in my youth from my own parents who have always been service oriented. I was asked to be a Guardian Ad Litem so am looking into that. Will def keep you posted. I really want to know how you all are doing. I wonder about many of you. So many of you guys that I know read this are people I admire and like for different reasons. Your "platform" is yourself. Sometimes, I think the internet has made everyone an expert...a therapist, a doctor, a professor, a minister or a pseudo leader. People forget to be themselves, and project ALOT.

That is your salt and that is your lime. Like usual it's a good or bad thing depending on your mood and if you lick it off your thumb or just ask for water.

In the meantime, I'll fight off the crazy FL insects and stay still for a while. We've done a ton of traveling the past spring and although we both love the road and could live on the road, our kids need to be in their own places for a while!

Is it OK for a vegetarian to wear leather?

I am posting this because I have alot of vegetarian friends, and what is more interesting than the actual article, which in my opinion is a fair and honest one, are the comments that follow. People are fiercely opinionated when it comes to meat, and the by- products of meat. Furthermore, there are alot of people who have some thoughtful insights and good advice in general. Also, there are the people who just want to get angry because not everyone agrees with them or is just like them. These people are the kind that just want to attack, and not accept, that everyone is different. There is alot of grey area in our world. Thank God we are all unique and most of us are not just following some dogma or doctrine but rather finding the best ways to live for ourselves, our families and our own peace of mind. It may be great to be of one worldly community, but in the end, being human means having our own decisions to be responsible for, and not waiting for someone else to show the way. I have thought for a long time that being a non meat eater is a healthy lifestyle, but never personally made it my own until about 1.5 years ago. This with a few occasions of meat indulgences, all home cooked, all my faves. I am still trying for a 100% meat free household, and everyone is on board. Our only flaw is we get lazy, and think that the flavors we like are only found in meat...so we expanded our spice and herb drawers immensely, and grill and roast vegetables more than ever, and include more cous cous and quinoa to our diet.

I like reading articles this like because it shows how imperfect we all are, something I think alot of people forget in the age of the internet...which makes everyone an "expert". I say, be your own expert, share good information if it's useful and positive, but let us all alone enough to find our own paths. And, the argument that leather is actually greener than plastic shoes is a good one, because there are a ton of commentors who argue both sides, who are vegans even. Do we buy leather and keep it nice and reuse for decades as some people do (pointing out that their shoes when they do go into a landfill are organic and will return to the Earth) , or do we buy plastic thinking that the leather can only come from the cruel slaughter of animals. This is a great argument. It's good to debate these things while our Earth gets filled with more junk. Read, and ponder.

Great link below from Salon.com!!!

Is it OK for a vegetarian to wear leather?

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (not the video)

Mysterious markings found in Great Pyramid

These pics show a space that has not had any fresh air hit it in 4500 years! inside a great pyramid, there are markings in red and metal rings. Hmm....sounds a little like some club I went to during my college years. Sounds like the Egyptians just wanted to party and be left alone with their millions of stone blocks and glow sticks.

have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend- I'll be back soon to write more. Read article below. Great link, great site.

http://gizmodo.com/5805853/what-are-the-mysterious-markings-found-in-the-great-pyramids-secret-chamber

Grateful List in case Rapture happens.

Things to be grateful for: Better make you grateful lists, in case the Rapture happens and you seem unthankful for all you have, you selfish buggers.

1. Good scary movies...the kind that make you wait. No chainsaws, no backseat hookups that end up in mashups, just good suspense and a story you can believe.

2. lightning bugs (my only bug "give"...meaning, a bug that I would let live if it was under my shoe and I could easily damage it)

3. Symphonies (the wine varietal and the live orchestral types)

4. sisters

5. mums and dads

6. fingers paints for kids

7. people out there who are taking care of kids who were abused.

8. great-grandparents!

9. Avocados. I could eat them all day, sliced on toasted grainy bread with some lite mayo, black pepper and tomatoes. YUMM>

10. Old friends who know you best. They know the whole you, the whole truth, and nothing but the true You.

What are you grateful for today? What if you had to leave our world tomorrow during a foretold Rapture date chosen by some old white guy in Kentucky? Let's say...Halloween, 2011.

I know we've done this before over the past three years, but take a moment. I LOVE a unique and artsy pair of great shoes, but would I include them on a grateful list?? depends on the day you ask. Sometimes, our needs are met and the more silly things rise to the top. Sometimes, we need to remember what we need most. I am a person who needs to see and hear things (tangibility a must) so making lists or in general, writing, is one the best ways I communicate, remember, and learn. This explains my utter hatred of algebra..it was all in the "air' as I tried to explain to my professors & tutors in college. It didn't mean anything because I could not feel it or see it (don't you get it? I would ask looking at them like they were idiots. trust me, some were). Different story...must get back to important moral point.

Thus, here we are. At the late evening hour, writing away like a little secretarial mouse. Anyhoo, think of the things you are most grateful for today. Open your eyes, look around. Would I need good shoes during a Rapture? Probably not, Avocados? Most definitely yes. Good for the skin, hair and full of good "fat". In Heaven, I'd rather have tons of good fat rather than be fat...that would be gluttony, and that is a sin.

We'll never win. Screw the grateful list.

A little Salt

one of the most annoying things is to just want to read a news clip on a site and then have two ads pop up, and to have the news story be a vid. Just sayin! I am much bigger on reading, rather than having someone read me a story (no matter how professional they are, there are always small tics that lean towards a bias). Writers can do the same, but I'm just more attune to bias in writing, and that's all I have to say about this particular gripe.

Cheerio!

Good morning or last goodbye??

Hello cats and dogs! Hope you guys are doing well out there in Apocalypse World. Are you there? Are you still with us? Well, I have been AWOL for over a week and am back in the land of FL. I love the beaches (especially of the panhandle) but going from 40 degree mountain air thousands of feet above sea level to the sweat bowl of our state was quite a shock two days ago. We went from Spring Green to Mean Steam and catching up on our yard work was a monster. But we survived the skeeters and weeds and are finally on top of our game.

There's alot to talk about right? End of days, Arnold and his little prince, going back to the gym full time this week after a week hiatus, my sons have grown so much, decisions we are discussing about where we might live next, the "film" "The Expendables" we saw last night (let's just say I was most excited about the red Xterra being used in a long car chase), Obama's pressure on Israel, tornadoes in the South, and my recent rides through Gainesville, FL my old stomping grounds (and place of many fun memories with my husband.)

However, the Curious George movie is about over, which means I am having to plan my next moves for "what do I do with my children" day since P isn't here right now. Soo...after the family time is over, I will return to this my most public/private outpost on the interweb to offer some more entertainment.

In the meantime, stash you stuff in the basement, have a great last meal and we'll see you on the other side.

Ta ta for now !

"Deadwood" is awesome.

I know, i know it's over....but "Deadwood" was SOOO good. People who don't like it, that's ok. The cursing was always talked about, and I loved to read the articles about how people really did "talk" in the Old West...a mixture of Gaelic, Scottish, British, and other worldly cursing were sure enough used quite often. I think the writers turned it up a bit for this show, because the setting is a "new" frontier town, not one with so much established cultural expectations. Some people may disagree but I would give anything to go back to that time in our history to just see and hear how people really were. In the meantime, "Deadwood" is not a representation but very adult and entertaining viewpoint of the women and men of the final frontier of our country. Hilarious, very loving, and bittersweet. Just like our country.

If you have never watched "Deadwood" give it a visit...there's a reason why so many people hated to see the show get shut down..due to HBO budget cuts. If you don't like the first episode, watch a few more...there are alot of underlying stories being told, and a ton of stories about how men and women had to fend for themselves in places where the law was whatever someone decided for the day...

We are all still waiting on the movie!

The Lighter Side of Deadwood

John Updike, one of my favorite writers, has landed on our shores.

From Peggy Lutz, Fred Muth - (12/13/08)

Dear friends of childhood, classmates, thank you,

scant hundred of you, for providing a

sufficiency of human types: beauty,

bully, hanger-on, natural,

twin, and fatso - all a writer needs,

all there in Shillington, its trolley cars

and little factories, cornfields and trees

leaf fires, snowflakes, pumpkins, valentines.

(to print the rest would not be an injustice, just an invitation to enjoy what John Updike has always brought me...much inspired writing and passionate prose I never forget, even after reading him in high school. In fact, as would be natural for any curious reader, his writings mean more to me now than they did when I was only 19. Like E.B. White, his stories (taking a walk from his poems now) are so good that when I read them, I actually connect with them. Based on my own life. And That, my friends, is good writing. When someone you don't know, you don't get the chance to show off on Facebook or some old city you lived in, touches you personally and has done that from age 12 or so. That is true talent, on their part.

I highly recommend John Updike and also EB White's essays to read to your children. White had an office in NYC but a suburban farm in the East Coast which he tried to take care of after his retirement. He gave us " Charlotte's Web" but he also wrote mostly adult essays and short stories for a living and they are worth the read. I wish everyone would read his volumes and come away with the happiness, peace and also questions he had about the turbulence of the hurricanes of the East Coast and the changes his family was facing. Both writers are outstanding for relativity and understanding of our modern world and it's changes. With humor and insight.

Read a book!

Murder and Alphabet Soup - How to Write a Network Crime Drama

From what I've gathered from the previous long winter months, picking up a forensic network show every now and then (Law and Order, CSI, Criminal Minds, Numbers, Bones, etc). I have stopped watching them for now, since Law and Order was only good when Lenny was alive, and the other stuff became a little too...how should I say - predictable??

Anyway, get yourself a Hollywood agent ala Ari Gold and turn in some scripts with stories that include the following items, and we'll hear from you two Emmy's and two wives down the road, ok? Good Luck!

1. Hire a cast of about 4-5 main characters, with one or more being minor characters that get about 10 minutes worth of camera time.

2. Make sure those minor characters have some major unique or quirky quality so that the story can highlight (at least twice an episode) how special, unique, or talented the entire mystery solving department is.

3. Always have one token tall quirky "smart" character (a younger male) who is either mildly austistic, slightly brilliant, can read minds, read Braille or decode criminal's highly complicated clues. This character is usually a sidekick to the "main guy" (see next item)

4. You must include the "main guy" - it's usually NOT a woman, but a classically good looking serious looking, unsmiling, unruffled actor who can stare off into windows during any scene, remembering a violent episode from his own past that a current case is bringing up (usually a wife or child that a bad guy did something bad too, thus "motivating" him to this career path).

He is the GO TO person, and barks orders or growls depending on the case. He can't drink or smoke because this is NETWORK TV (not 1985) and the kids might be up, so he holds it all inside ready to explode at any given end of season episode.

5. Alot of "woman parts" usually go to the very quirky, usually punked out sidekicks who- although very important to solving the cases - get stuck behind 10 computer screens decoding webbernaut stuff because THEY ARE SUPER SMART and know WAY more than you or I. These women are usually purposefully "uncool" (like the ubertrendy yet trying not to be trendy goth kids in school) and although attractive, are still stuck in stereotyped roles, found in almost all these shows.

6. Another "woman part" goes to the super tall, leggy, unsmiling and uncompromising lawyer/p.i. woman who may get compromised if she has that glass of wine at the cop bar, which may happen once a season to get the story lines from getting boring. This lady can crack the you know whats, and gets the job done, but let it be known- when a woman messes up on these shows, she gets yelled at pronto by some superior, who of course, is a stately but serious older white man.

(Law and Order!! ) Anyway, another good tip for writing your script.

7. The roles for minorities...The best advice I can give to you is from what I have seen- make sure you hire at least one good looking black person to be a main character (never THE main character) so you don't get blamed for being a racist. If you find you are a racist, in that case call Mel Gibson in Malibu and don't look for Spielberg or Geffen to call you. You Have to include a black person or a Hispanic (Bones, Criminal Minds...ahem). Being serious for one moment....there are some good roles out there, for example in Bones, the superior to "Bones' is a very likable, smart black woman, and the writers don't make the audience feel dumb by making references to race. However, some of these other shows have writers who think they have to spell racial equality out for us...US being the dumb dumb U.S. tv watching population. (as usual, race is hard to talk about without messing up what you are trying to say- hope you get it).

8. The BAD GUY- ok this one very easy. The most ugly member of the entire episode is the bad guy or gal. If not really repulsive, they may be strikingly good looking and smart but have a weird trait- like a droopy eye, a tick, a shuffle or bad shoes...look for it, it's true. The bad guy pops up about 3/4 the way through the episode after about 10 red herrings are thrown at you like sand bags. Those are not hard to miss....neither will it be hard for you to write!!

PS- don't forget ALL the labs are SUPER clean, get tons of Windex for your studio set. And gets tons of neon (CSI) and lots of generic white lab coats. And make sure all the women have super manicures, grouper lips, and arched eyebrows. All these ingredients will help make you the next Mr. Wolf. (RIP old Law and Order!)

Foodie alert!! Wanna try some dirt??

in a recent Food and Wine magazine, I was inspired by a page devoted to creative chefs who are using soil and "faux" soil (made from shaved beets, mushrooms, dried olives and other items) as a new food inspiration. Several of the sites the article links do not have photos of the dishes, but I found one at an Australian restaurant called Attica, whose chef Ben Shewry builds dishes based on the landscape of his native New Zealand. In another extreme, artists like Laura Parker at San Francisco's Intersection for the Arts actually has different soil types in wine glasses, ready for perusers to sniff like a wine, and then eat vegetable that was grown in that particular soil. Leave it to creative chefs to point the way to more inventive ways of using natural resources of Earth. Here, that is a literal idea!!

great photo on below link...

http://attica.com.au/#m=Gallery/Album&id=1

Do babies ruin some marriages? read below to see what one woman says

I don't think having a child instantly turns a marriage "bad" but rather for some couples (like my husband and myself) who were together for YEARS before having a child- it was a rather rude wake up call. You could say- we were each other's babies and I miss that alot. We love our children very much, and I am always finding ways to show them they are adored and are the special wunderkinds we know they are.

However, I do think couples who are considering having kids should NEVER listen to their waiting to be "grandparents" and rather ask for the Real Deal from friends who do have kids now, and haven't forgotten how hard it is. Get some real information, be a little emotionally prepared. Kids, are you know.. for REAL. If your parents want you to have kids that bad, and you are questioning it - DON'T do it, and tell them to adopt a min-pin. Let them clean up the poop.

Enjoy this link and the hundreds of comments from readers.... Thanks Jezebel!!

http://jezebel.com/#!5797393/babies-are-jerks-who-will-ruin-your-marriage

We caught the old terrorist so what...

does it mean to you. Personally. The media will play it up like it means something. And don't forget it does- financially to military corporation Wall Street types in the end. Money money. So many people I know talk the talk about being against hypocrites (whatever that means) but they do not allow for the fact that most people are good, and are not upper class and do not have family money or some link to some national newspaper or do not rely on the government for help. HE was caught, and then killed, and some forces will take credit for it.

I can only hope that it gives some comfort to the family and friends of those who lost so many on 9/11 and that those who have decided that 9/11 is not such a big deal (which seems to be the ultra-hip trend) listen to interviews with the rescuers such as the firemen and policemen at the scene, and the witnesses. It was a big deal. It sent shivers up my spine when I saw the first live footage that morning, and we all, in our radio station, spent our morning praying or saying some kind of blessing for those people who were jumping to their deaths.

It was a big deal. Not for us, but for the victims and their families. The unforgettable moment was the scene of bodies falling to the streets. Days later, the media companies edited that out. Good thing the media always has our backs. The truth never sells, only the truth with lots of lullabies surrounding it. To softly send us off to sleep. Never to worry, dear citizens, whatever you saw earlier is only a figment of your imagination!! We'll tone it down for you so you won't be so stressed. Yes, it's always easier to see images that make us happy.